GUEST COLUMNIST: Small college suddenly gained fame

Bruce Roche is a retired professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Alabama.

Published: Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 8:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.

When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, I experienced, in my shock and sadness, some connections to the event.

The young president was only 13 years older than I, he at 46 and I at 33. I had once lived only a few miles from Dealey Plaza where the assassination occurred.

At the time of the assassination I, a native Texan, was living in my home state in San Marcos, a small town 230 miles south of Dallas. My direct linkage to the event came from my responsibilities at a small academic institution in San Marcos, Southwest Texas State College, where I taught journalism and served as director of the news service. This responsibility connected me to the news media of the area, since I supplied them with news and information about the college.

In 1963, Southwest Texas State’s enrollment was about 5,000 students, which made it one of the smaller institutions of higher education in the state. Probably the best known graduate of the college was the then-vice president of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. Since his graduation in 1930 from Southwest Texas State, Johnson had remained close to his alma mater, often returning to the campus.

The death of President Kennedy meant that a graduate of this small and relatively unknown college moved into the most powerful office in the nation and became the world’s most important leader. While Johnson was serving as vice president, national media in the United States took modest interest in his educational background. Only a few inquired about his undergraduate experience at the college. Nov. 22 changed that.

As director of the news service I began receiving requests for information about the president’s undergraduate experience. That he had enrolled in 1927 as a freshman. That he was, on average, a B/C student but an A/B student as an upperclassman, and that he had never failed a course. That his best grades were in history and the social sciences. That he edited the college newspaper (one of the few student jobs that paid a salary, although small). That he was active in a student political party that succeeded in controlling the student council and thus much of campus politics. That he fell under the influence of a member of the faculty who encouraged his interest in a political career.

After Johnson became president, the media were more interested in the details of his college experience than they had been when he was vice president. Over the years I had offered tours of the campus to news media, and a few reporters had accepted this opportunity to see the campus where Lyndon Johnson had gone to college.

At every appearance of the president on campus, I hosted and assisted news media. The most involved I became occurred during the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The White House called and asked me to make arrangements. Working with the college president, the decision was made to hold the ceremony in front of the iconic Main Building, the earliest building on campus.However, weather interfered, and the act was signed indoors at an undistinguished location.

My only close contact with the president came in April 1966. It was a difficult time for President Johnson. His Vietnam policy was attracting significant criticism throughout the nation, and he was increasingly unpopular. During one stay at the LBJ Ranch, he called the college president and asked to visit with a dozen faculty members, I feel sure to enjoy some relief from the drumbeat of national discontent.

Since the ranch was only minutes away from the campus by helicopter, the president flew to the college and sat down with a dozen faculty members, myself included, and student leaders. Word of the president’s presence had spread across the campus, and a large crowd of students was waiting outside the Main Building when he emerged. In what surely lifted his spirits, he shook many, many hands.

The editor of the college newspaper invited President Johnson to the paper’s newsroom, and the president, the former editor turned president accepted. As faculty adviser of the paper, I followed. During that visit, another sharp young student who was later to build a career as a television journalist in Austin invited the president to make a statement for a program she did on the local radio station. The president followed her into a small radio booth next to my office and taped a short statement; it was an interesting experience for me to join the president, the student and a secret service agent in the tiny studio.

<p>When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, I experienced, in my shock and sadness, some connections to the event.</p><p>The young president was only 13 years older than I, he at 46 and I at 33. I had once lived only a few miles from Dealey Plaza where the assassination occurred.</p><p>At the time of the assassination I, a native Texan, was living in my home state in San Marcos, a small town 230 miles south of Dallas. My direct linkage to the event came from my responsibilities at a small academic institution in San Marcos, Southwest Texas State College, where I taught journalism and served as director of the news service. This responsibility connected me to the news media of the area, since I supplied them with news and information about the college.</p><p>In 1963, Southwest Texas State's enrollment was about 5,000 students, which made it one of the smaller institutions of higher education in the state. Probably the best known graduate of the college was the then-vice president of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. Since his graduation in 1930 from Southwest Texas State, Johnson had remained close to his alma mater, often returning to the campus.</p><p>The death of President Kennedy meant that a graduate of this small and relatively unknown college moved into the most powerful office in the nation and became the world's most important leader. While Johnson was serving as vice president, national media in the United States took modest interest in his educational background. Only a few inquired about his undergraduate experience at the college. Nov. 22 changed that.</p><p>As director of the news service I began receiving requests for information about the president's undergraduate experience. That he had enrolled in 1927 as a freshman. That he was, on average, a B/C student but an A/B student as an upperclassman, and that he had never failed a course. That his best grades were in history and the social sciences. That he edited the college newspaper (one of the few student jobs that paid a salary, although small). That he was active in a student political party that succeeded in controlling the student council and thus much of campus politics. That he fell under the influence of a member of the faculty who encouraged his interest in a political career.</p><p>After Johnson became president, the media were more interested in the details of his college experience than they had been when he was vice president. Over the years I had offered tours of the campus to news media, and a few reporters had accepted this opportunity to see the campus where Lyndon Johnson had gone to college.</p><p>At every appearance of the president on campus, I hosted and assisted news media. The most involved I became occurred during the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The White House called and asked me to make arrangements. Working with the college president, the decision was made to hold the ceremony in front of the iconic Main Building, the earliest building on campus.However, weather interfered, and the act was signed indoors at an undistinguished location.</p><p>My only close contact with the president came in April 1966. It was a difficult time for President Johnson. His Vietnam policy was attracting significant criticism throughout the nation, and he was increasingly unpopular. During one stay at the LBJ Ranch, he called the college president and asked to visit with a dozen faculty members, I feel sure to enjoy some relief from the drumbeat of national discontent.</p><p>Since the ranch was only minutes away from the campus by helicopter, the president flew to the college and sat down with a dozen faculty members, myself included, and student leaders. Word of the president's presence had spread across the campus, and a large crowd of students was waiting outside the Main Building when he emerged. In what surely lifted his spirits, he shook many, many hands.</p><p>The editor of the college newspaper invited President Johnson to the paper's newsroom, and the president, the former editor turned president accepted. As faculty adviser of the paper, I followed. During that visit, another sharp young student who was later to build a career as a television journalist in Austin invited the president to make a statement for a program she did on the local radio station. The president followed her into a small radio booth next to my office and taped a short statement; it was an interesting experience for me to join the president, the student and a secret service agent in the tiny studio.</p>